Chiefs’ secondary concerns get worse as L’Jarius Sneed breaks collarbone

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed will miss some time with a collarbone injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs might be dependent on Patrick Mahomes and their high-octane offense to set them apart from the rest of the NFL’s elite teams.

Yet their much-improved defense was an invaluable component of the team that won the Super Bowl last year and has started off 3-0 in 2020. However, one of the unit’s breakout stars in cornerback L’Jarius Sneed suffered a nasty injury that could test how truly deep this team is.

Sneed reportedly broke his collarbone in Kansas City’s Monday Night win over Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, giving an already thin Chiefs secondary some more bad news they weren’t prepared for.

L’Jarius Sneed was impressing in his first three NFL games

Sneed was a safety in college at Louisiana Tech, but the Chiefs converted the 2020 fourth-round pick to cornerback, where he has excelled as a rookie.

Sneed’s 26.2 passer rating allowed on throws targeting him is the second-best in the league, and he recorded interceptions of Deshaun Watson and Justin Herbert in his first two games. He narrowly missed intercepting Jackson on Monday Night.

While Bashaud Breeland will return from his suspension soon, Charvarius Ward is still nursing his broken hand and the cupboard is looking very bare ahead of their game against Cam Newton and the New England Patriots. One player who could see an increase in playing time is Bopete Keyes, a long, physical cornerback the Chiefs picked in the seventh round out of Tulane.

Kansas City is going to put points on the board, but their defense will determine how far they can go when the calendar flips to January. Missing Sneed for an extending period of time is an excruciating development for Steve Spagnuolo.